TESTIMONY
Testimony by Jessica Walker, President of Manhattan Chamber of Commerce on Small Business Support Programs
2:27:55
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116 sec
Jessica Walker, President of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, testifies in support of small business resource programs and chamber on the field initiatives. She emphasizes the effectiveness of these programs and requests continued funding from the City Council and EDC. Additional details: - Since October 2020, their programs have reached a significant number of businesses (exact number not provided in excerpt) - They request $500,000 citywide for the 5 borough chamber alliance - Support for the EDC Business Resource Center and chamber on the go program
Jessica Walker
2:27:55
I I'm Jessica Walker.
2:27:56
I'm the president of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce.
2:27:59
I wanna just sort of reiterate what my colleagues Meredith and Randy spoke about earlier.
2:28:04
In particular, we are very supportive of our small business resource network and also the chamber on the field programs.
2:28:11
I just wanted to highlight because I did such a great job.
2:28:13
I just wanted to highlight a few things.
2:28:15
First and foremost, just how effective the program is since it's in step in October 2020.
2:28:22
We have reached more than 47,000 businesses throughout the city.
2:28:27
And the step that I'm most proud of is that we have that most of the people we've helped, 76% of the businesses we've reached have been minority in women owned businesses.
2:28:38
And the vast majority of businesses we've reached have had 4 or fewer employees.
2:28:44
So these really are the businesses who need the help the most, who, you know, often are forgotten or just don't know where to go and really do need the support and the resources.
2:28:55
So very helpful.
2:28:56
It's a very terrific program.
2:28:58
The other thing I wanna reiterate, I think Randy spoke about it, is that the chamber on the Go program really does help to amplify all the good programs that the city has, and that small businesses may never know about if it's not for the outreach that we're doing.
2:29:12
So, you know, the lease negotiation program, the MWE certification programs, all of that great stuff, the city grants and loans, We're the ones getting the word out about that.
2:29:23
So, again, we just wanna request that the city council discretionary money, it's $500,000 citywide for the 5 borough chamber alliance.
2:29:32
The other part of money runs through EDC.
2:29:35
It's called the EDC Business Resource Center It's administered by SBS, but runs through EDC.
2:29:41
And then, of course, the chamber on the go program is a city council discretionary fund.
2:29:46
We support it, and we would love to see that fully restored in the city budget.
2:29:50
Thank you.
